The
Piano Quintet in d minor, Op.25 was perhaps the most performed of all of
Stanford's chamber music. It is certainly a fine work and as far as piano
quintets go, must after the Brahms, Dvorak and Schumann, be placed, along
with 3 or 4 other works, near the top of its class.

Charles
Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) was born in Dublin. Took a classics degree at Cambridge University
and then went to Leipzig Conservatory where he studied composition with
Carl Reinecke in Leipzig, followed by stint in Berlin where he studied with Friedrich Kiel. While
abroad, Stanford met Brahms and became an admirer.
The once high reputation that he enjoyed all but disappeared by the end of
his life with critics writing him off as nothing more than a German
“copycat” and another Brahms imitator. This criticism is both unfair and
wide of the mark. While it is to some extent true his early works show
a German influence (sometimes Mendelssohn, sometimes Schumann, and sometimes
Brahms), so did the music of other composers such as Borodin, Busoni, Respighi, Grieg and the American George Chadwick, to name but a few,
who came to study composition in Germany and came away influenced by
Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms. It is particularly unjust to Stanford to complain
that some of his early works show German influence, especially in view of
the fact that he ultimately went on to help found an English style and
contributed to the renaissance of British music. This was particularly true
in the realm of chamber music where Stanford almost single-handedly
jump-started the British repertoire. Among his many students were Ralph
Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells, Frank Bridge, Ernst Moeran,
Arthur Bliss, and Percy Grainger.

The Piano Quintet dates from 1886. Stanford received much advice and support
from Joseph Joachim, the famous violinist, and leader of one of Europe's
outstanding string quartets. The work is conceived on a grand scale
and as a successor to the works of Schumann and Brahms. The opening
Allegro moderato ma agitato is written on a colossal scale. The opening
theme in the minor is troubled and ruminative with an elegiac tinge. The
lovely second theme is not so gloomy. The melodies and harmonies are lush
and the music richly scored. The following energetic Scherzo is rhythmically
is original and captivating while the mood is redolent of goblins. The
writing and ideas are superb. The trio is based on a simple folk melody. The
substantial Adagio espressivo showcases Stanford gift for expansive,
self-developing lyrical melodies and is clearly the work's center of
gravity. It begins leisurely and flows along calming for quite some time
before it suddenly rises to a huge dramatic climax in the middle of the
movement. The finale, Allegro risoluto, is in the major and serves as an
affirmation of hope setting aside the troubled moods which have preceded it.

Although it enjoyed popularity in England, if the composer of this work
had been German, it would have entered the repertoire and been heard
world-wide. That
fact that a Briton had written it led to a different result.
We are pleased to make it available after more than a century of being out
of print. It belongs in the concert hall and will be a joy to amateurs.